


A Bloom For Me And You (What A Wonderful World)

by sleepismyfriend



Category: Battlestar Galactica (2003)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-03-21
Updated: 2009-03-21
Packaged: 2017-10-10 21:28:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/104481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleepismyfriend/pseuds/sleepismyfriend
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is their life together; Bill & Laura's happy place.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Bloom For Me And You (What A Wonderful World)

**Author's Note:**

> The excerpts from the book Bill is reading belong to angelgazing from a Harry Potter story she wrote called 'Of Being Parentheses'.

Laura feels his warm breath at her neck; his left arm under her neck and across her shoulders and his right slung loosely around her middle. A little sigh emerges from the back of her throat; a small hum as she smiles.

She loves being the first one to wake up; slowly, without anything interrupting the peace and quiet. On more than one occasion, she wakes to find him sitting on the edge of the bed; watching her breathe like he's afraid she'll stop if he moves.

There's something serene about being in someone's arms that she doesn't want to give up yet, and she knows that it's love. Love is too much sometimes, she thinks.

Sometimes, she doesn't think she deserves it.

\--

  
Laura doesn't expect the knock at their door; she is downstairs in the kitchen fiddling with the coffeepot and fixing some toast when she hears it.

"Morning," Kara grins innocently when the door opens, and Laura knows from personal experience that this particular smile means Kara Thrace has solemnly sworn to be up to no good and doesn't care who knows it.

"Good morning, Starbuck," Laura greets her with a smile as she closes the door behind her, crossing her arms, waiting for the expected answer. Kara never disappoints, "What do you hear?"

"Nothing but the rain," Kara replies, out of habit with another genuine smile.

"He's upstairs," Laura's eyes turn upwards to the stairs; she knows better than to finish the rest of the playful banter that Bill and Kara are known for, and just point Kara in the right direction of the person they both know she came to see. It only adds to Kara's imagination as Laura smiles, "Although, I'm sure he's decent by now."

Kara shakes her head, muttering something that Laura's sure is full of sexual innuendo that she makes sure Laura only hears half of as she climbs the stairs and out of Laura's sight.

At least maybe Kara's grin includes something that will get Bill out of the house for a while, Laura thinks. Kara had indeed been showing her face around their home more often, and that pleased Laura. It was good for all of them to spend time together.

Laura makes her way back towards the kitchen; _time to finish what I started._

Ten minutes pass before she hears them coming down the stairs, two sets of worn military-issued boots clearly the dead giveaway. She sits at the table as she takes a sip and sets the mug down, the toast gone; the crumbs remain.

"Morning," Bill says, his lips touching the top of her head to linger for just a moment.

"Morning," Laura feels his hand pressing into her shoulder; her hand covers his and she smiles. She realizes instantly from the arm reaching over her that he is in fact, stealing her cup of coffee. She doesn't mind, she thinks. It's not the first time they've ever shared something; most certainly not the last, "You two going out?"

"Mmhmm," Bill takes another sip and puts the mug back down, "For a few hours. You wanna come?"

Laura shakes her head; she is more than willing to stay in the house and curl up on the couch with a good book in her hands while the two of them go running around.

"I promise," Kara smirks. "I'll have him back in one piece."

"Or several," Bill chuckles, touched her shoulder again as to reassure her that he indeed will be as careful as possible.

"One piece, please," Another kiss to the top of her head, and Laura smiles, watching them leave out of the corner of her eye, thinking to add, "And he better not be totally wasted, either!"

"Good thing we didn't tell you our plans then," Kara stops, looking at Laura to grin widely. "The old man said you always liked a little bit of mystery."

The tone in Kara's voice matches the one from earlier when Laura mentioned 'decent'. Laura's eyes give away everything she's thinking; _and what exactly have you told your surrogate daughter about us, Bill?_ In the near future, a discussion in private between the two of them would sort out what else exactly he has told Kara about her.

Finally, they leave, and Laura sighs. Her cup is empty, and her stomach is full, for now. She gets up, placing the mug and empty plate in the sink. There is a book and couch with her name on it, and she is going to be _dammed_ if she's going to let the opportunity slip away.

\--

  
A few hours turns four to be exact and she doesn't hear them come in as Bill shifts the bags from his arms into Kara's as he quietly approaches her on the sofa; his finger motioning for Kara to stay quiet. Kara nods her head, heading towards the kitchen.

He braces one arm on the back of the sofa while the other takes the open book from her chest and sets it down on the coffee table. He'll never know what he did to deserve her, but he certainly isn't going to complain.

Bill lowers himself down on one knee, leaning in to brush a small piece of stray hair behind her ear. His hand brushes her cheek; her head automatically leans into it, and he's afraid he's woken her without having the chance to kiss her.

His lips brush hers, and her lips form a small silhouette to match them. He leans in further and is greeted by her eyes staring into his.

"Hi," he says. "Been asleep long?"

"Not really," Laura smiles, the sleep still in her eyes. "I was reading and my eyes got a little heavy. Thought I'd take a small nap."

Laura's fingers tracing the lines of his faces with her fingertips. "Did you have fun with Kara?"

"Yeah, missed you though," Bill leans down to kiss her again; the sleep slowly fading from her eyes as her tongue swept across the front of his teeth releasing the small groan in the back of his throat. Laura sees Kara out of the corner of her eye; the awkward look in her eye as he pulls back.

Bill notices this, and looks over at Kara, who's only slightly blushing.

"Sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Kara waves the notion away. Love doesn't need apologizing for.

\--

  
Kara doesn't stay long, promising to return shortly to help with dinner after she's cleaned up, rounded up the gang, and oh, run those last few things on her to-do list. Thinking that Kara would even think about making a list about anything rather amuses Laura; the smile at the sides of her mouth.

"He really should make an honest woman out of you, one day," Kara grins; winking at Bill in which she thinks Laura didn't notice. "I mean, it's not that any of us mind you. In fact, most of us would rather you just get it over with so we all have a real excuse to get plastered."

This isn't a new conversation; Bill and Laura have discussed marriage privately before only to be distracted by other subjects that had nothing to do with them and everything to do with the people around them.

"We'll get around to it," Laura sighs happily, leaning into him as her hand rests on the part of his chest most connected to his heart, "Eventually."

"Whatever," Kara shrugs. "Think of all the little Roslin-Adama's that could be running around out there if you two would quit dragging your frakking feet!"

Kara says it jokingly; they're too old to have children and neither of them is actually offended as they just chuckle at her. "On second thought, I don't want to imagine that… I'll be back."

Once Kara exits, his body shifts, and now he holds her close. Her arms around his waist, Laura breathes in his scent; matching his deep melodic breaths with her own.

"Roslin-Adama, huh?" Bill whispers as his hands rest on her waist. Barely touching the skin inside her shirt, his thumbs circle the small ridges of her hipbones, rocking her gently back and forth, "How about just Adama?"

"I'd like that," Laura sighs contently as Bill kisses her forehead, and she pulls back to look at him, "As long as they have your eyes."

"And your hair," Bill chuckles as his hand pulls away from her waist long enough to circle one loose curl of hair around his finger.

"My hair?"

"Well, of course. It's beautiful. I could never imagine our children without it," his whispers in her ear wanting to be selfish and selfless at the same time, "You sure you want to do this?"

"What?" Laura tilts her head, smiling in the moment enough not to take the moment seriously enough for it to _hurt_. "Imagine our imaginary children that we're physically too old and emotionally too stubborn to actually have?"

"No," Bill smiles for a moment; the question can wait. This conversation was far more interesting and they're laughing together now, "Because neither of us is _old_, and I'm hardly stubborn."

Laura giggles loudly at this point; her eyebrows arching with a look of incredulous disbelief.

"Oh, so we're blaming my half of our imaginary child's chromosomes for being stubborn, maybe I should schedule an appointment with Cottle to examine your head," Laura replies, half jokingly and half not. "Because, the way I see it, _Admiral_, our children would be royally screwed. We're both stubborn. I have witnesses."

"Well, I have airlocks for witnesses," he jokingly reminds her.

"Had airlocks, Bill," she quickly intervenes, "Which I conveniently have the keys to. You want to airlock our witnesses? Well, you're going to have to go through me to do it. Fully clothed, I might add."

"Stubborn presidents," Bill cackles.

"Who love even more stubborn admirals," Laura grins as she leans in to kiss him; leaning close to his ear to whisper, "Admit it, Bill. You'd never want me any other way."

She knows she's telling the truth when he smiles; his eyes sparkling.

\--

  
They find themselves down in the city park; the birds chirp through the tall trees as they walk, hand in hand with not too much space between them.

"Beautiful day," Bill remarks; the mothers with children in strollers and young people in the park scattered as he searches for the perfect spot. The sun is pretty high in the sky; the last thing Laura needs is for her fair skin to be burned because of a few hours outside. "You never answered my question."

"Hmm?" Laura enjoys these walks; the soothing sounds relaxing her.

"I know this whole 'family' dinner thing was last minute… "

"Bill, they're your family," Laura replies. "It's fine."

"_Our_ family," he points to the tree's got enough shade for the both of them, "Right there."

Bill carefully lowers himself to the ground; stretching out his legs and motioning for her to join him as she follows. Her head sits on his thigh as he pulls a small book from his pocket and she's glad; for she loves to hear his voice reading some of their favorites together.

Laura closes her eyes and takes in the fresh air and sounds around her.

"_…You imagine years and years of nothing but days lying in the grass while he reads poetry, his fingers in your hair and your head on his thigh. You dream of warm, empty days where it's like it never was but how it always should've been,_" Bill reads; his voice soft as he has done so many other times before.

His voice penetrates through her head like the most welcoming of meditations; her body relaxing as her head becomes heavy against his thigh. He knows she's nearly asleep, but continues reading. "_His eyes are heavy in the mid-afternoon sunlight, and his lashes fall against his cheeks and you press close to him and you don't know of anything closer to heaven._"

His hand traces small circles down her arm as he continues reading; watching her out of one eye as her breathing becomes slower and more languid. He's content to let her rest peacefully for now.

"Laura, honey," Bill whispers close in her ear some time later, "It's getting late; we have to get home."

\--

  
Kara is surprisingly resourceful when she wants to be, Laura thinks to herself. She shows back up at exactly four o'clock; arms full of odds and ends and fully prepared to help cook while wearing the simplest of blue dresses that Laura's fairly sure Kara didn't own before or else she would have noticed.

Lee appears about thirty minutes later, dressed in a blazer and nice purple collared shirt with jeans, holding a nice bottle of wine; kissing Laura on the cheek and hugging his father before Kara appears in the doorway of the kitchen, demanding his help.

"Duty calls," Lee laughs and Bill and Laura watch him head towards the kitchen and disappear before Laura says something.

"Bill, are you sure about them?" Laura knows Bill's children, biological or not. They have a tendency to destroy things between them when they're together. Frankly, Laura didn't feel like spending the good portion of her evening scraping food off the walls, and throwing away good dishes.

"They'll behave." Bill has more optimism for the evening ahead as his hands rest on her stomach with hers covering them. His chin sits on her shoulder as he nuzzles her neck, "Or else, they'll both be scrubbing every communal bathroom in the Fleet for a month with their toothbrushes."

Laura giggles at the thought of Kara and Lee scrubbing with bright yellow and red matching toothbrushes, and it takes him nearly five minutes before he can get her to stop.

\--

  
Saul shows up next, both Ellen and Caprica with him when Laura answers the door. Ellen and Caprica silently nod; Laura looks at Saul with a grin as he returns her with a look that says, _don't you dare say a frakking word. You're lucky we're here in one frakking piece._

Laura is pretty sure that she'll hear the story later about how Saul was able to bring both women along without one of them killing the other. She tries to shut the door, but then Tyrol's voice causes her to reopen the door.

"Ma'm," Tyrol grins as Cottle, Helo and Athena stand behind him. Without saying a word, she points straight to the kitchen where everyone else is congregating, probably with more alcohol than can be counted. Bill comes from the kitchen, pats Tyrol and Cottle on the back; and quietly thanks Helo and Athena for coming.

"Family, huh? You planning on inviting the entire Fleet for dinner, _Admiral_?" Laura stills stands near the door, arms crossed as she waits for an answer. "Should we set some places in case the Cylons decide to attend too?"

"Just Galactica," Bill jokes, his arm around her shoulders as they follow everyone else into the kitchen. "Although, I'm sure Kara and Lee have made more than plenty to be eaten."

\--

  
They're all in the kitchen, Lee and Kara towards the center island where most of the food was cooking either on the stove or in the oven. Caprica and Ellen sit on two different stools while Saul leans against one of the counters. Helo and Athena sit at the table while Tyrol and Cottle lean against one of the patio door frames.

"I want to thank you all for coming here today," Bill starts out; sliding his arm on the inside of Laura's to give her hand a tight squeeze. "But I'm afraid you've all been mislead."

_Mislead?_ Laura thinks. _What the hell is he talking about?_

"I wanted all of you here, tonight, because each of you means something to me," Bill starts out, looking around at all of them until he turns back to Laura for split second; giving her a wink. "Because the truth is, we're family, and families should stick together."

Small murmurs of agreement spread across the kitchen and Laura notices the look on Kara's face; noting the grin that matched this morning's visit. She knows what's going to happen, Laura told herself.

"However, I think it's time that we should officially induct a new member of this family," Bill turns to face her, never wavering his grip on her hand, a small box pulled from his pocket. "I love you, more you'll know, more than I could probably ever say… In front of all these people, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

The ring he's holding is simple, silver and sparkling like his eyes at the moment as he patiently waits to hear her answer.

"Okay," Laura releases the nervous breath she's been holding in her stomach for the last 2.8 seconds to stare into his eyes as tears fill hers. As she nods for response, Bill instantly pulls her close; releasing her long enough for a kiss and a hug and to say '_I love you_'.

"About frakking time," Saul mutters; standing pretty close to Kara to see her nod her head in agreement.

"Couldn't agree more, Colonel," Kara grins as she watches the couple. Laura's head is against Bill's shoulder and one arm remains around her.

"Does anyone object to a wedding this evening?" Bill grins as he looks at each person around the room to see if anyone objects. Seeing no one that objected, "Good, because they're about to be one. Could I see all you guys outside for a moment?"

\--

  
"This is for you," Kara motions to the long thin box on the bed, startling Laura as she hadn't realized that she had been followed upstairs to change.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Laura steps over to the bed, unsure of what she's about to find. "What's this?"

"Open the box," Kara grins; though at this point, she's almost out of the grins that have been plaguing her all day because her cheeks hurt. "I only hope you haven't lost as much weight as I think you have. I still think it'll fit nicely, though."

Laura opens the box; her hands pushing past the tissue paper to find a simple sleeveless white dress. Kara moves over to sit next to her on the bed.

"I helped pick it out and possibly guessed the size a little," Kara's hands twist into knots at uncertainty. "However, I did have a little reconnaissance beforehand, so that helped too."

"I see," Laura pulls the dress from the box, inspecting it. It's short; just like she would have expected since Kara was the one who helped buy it. Flaring out, the silky material is like heaven in Laura's hands.

"Yeah, the mannequin wasn't really giving it justice," Kara laughs; Laura knows that laugh. This was something that Kara wasn't exactly sure about, almost to the point of being overboard and nearly rejected by everyone but wanted to do anyway, for both of them. "However, I think you will."

"It's beautiful," Laura smiles. "You really weren't joking about making an honest woman out of me, were you?"

"I've never seen him so happy," Kara sighs. "He deserves it."

"We all deserve it, Kara," Laura reaches for Kara's hand; giving it a small squeeze.

"He's better with you than he ever was without you," Kara squeezes her hand back as Caprica and Ellen walk in. "And, that's saying something pretty frakking special."

"I know," Laura smiles.

\--

  
"Be careful," Caprica says, noticing Laura's watery eyes and the tears that wanted to fall, but didn't. "Or else we'll have to fix it."

"It'll be fine," Kara replies. "The Old Man won't notice."

"She's right," Ellen replies, trying her hardest to be genuine and positive when Laura knows that the majority of the time, Ellen is neither, "He'll be too busy staring at your legs to notice a few smudges of makeup gone AWOL."

The dress is a perfect fit and flares out above her knees to show off Laura's long legs.

"Are we decent?" Lee knocks on the open bedroom door as Kara fiddles with the small sash around Laura's waist. Caprica and Ellen are slightly fussing with Laura's hair; neither one starting an argument as they had peacefully styled it into loose curls that fell around her shoulders.

"Would we have the door open if we weren't decent, Apollo?" Kara cracks back, straightening the bow the best she can.

"Knowing you? Anything is possible," Lee chuckles loudly, stepping into the room.

"Children," Laura uses her teacher voice playfully; turning to face Kara. "I do not want to keep your father waiting."

"Well, I can see why," Lee smiles as he leans forward to kiss Laura's cheek. "You look beautiful."

"Thank you, Captain Apollo."

"What about me, Lee?" Kara swirls around. "Do I pass inspection?"

"Barely," Lee says, and they all chuckle again as Lee offers his arm out, "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be," Laura smiles, her arm curling around Lee's.

\--

  
The soft grass is plush under her bare feet as she looks for Bill and finds him standing next to the Priestess. Wearing a nice pair of khakis and a collared shirt, she notices the subtle changes in their yard, the flowers and small pathway that they've erected with the people standing around.

The dim lanterns are a nice touch, she thinks. Only for a moment does she think about turning around and running; but when she gets close enough to stare into Bill's eyes, any thought she had about running goes completely out the window.

Bill holds out his hand and she takes it; slipping her hand into his as he brings her closer and across from him to hold onto both of her hands. Immediately, their eyes lock, and Laura knows everything is going to be okay.

"The Gods bring us here today to join these two unique souls before us. A good marriage is not born something that automatically happens," Priestess Illa begins, taking a deep breath; holding her scroll in front of her. "In the art of marriage: the little things are the big things. It is never being too old to hold hands."

Laura smiles; she reaches for Bill's hand more times in one day than she cares to count. It never fazes her when she's spent an entire day touching him in some form or another. "It is remembering to say 'I love you' at least once a day."

She knows that part will be easy, for both of them. "It is at no time taking the other for granted; the courtship should not end with the honeymoon, it should continue through all the years. It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives. It is standing together facing the world."

Laura stares into Bill's eyes; for she knows that standing against the world has never been either of their problems. "It is forming a circle of love that gathers in the whole family."

This ceremony is about acceptance; one family to another.

"It is doing things for each other, not in the attitude of duty or sacrifice, but in the spirit of joy. It is speaking words of appreciation and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways. It is not expecting the husband to wear a halo or the wife to have wings of an angel."

Well, I don't think we have to worry about halos at this point, Laura thinks, although she's pretty sure that Bill tends to overlook his minor annoyances because it's her and he's too much of a gentleman to say otherwise. Then there are times when they're angry and shouting and everything comes out before them like a rock through a glass house.

It's always been between them that way.

"It is not looking for perfection in each other. It is having the capacity to forgive and forget. It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow. It is finding room for the things of the spirit. It is a common search for the good and the beautiful. It is establishing a relationship in which the independence is equal, dependence is mutual and the obligation is reciprocal. It is not only marrying the right partner, it is being the right partner."

Laura sighs; resisting the urge to move her hands from Bill's so that she could hold his face and run her hands through his hair. Bill winks; for he too is resisting similar urges.

"Do you, William, vow to love and cherish this woman for the rest of her days?"

"I do," Kara hands Laura the ring to slip onto his finger; she does so happily.

"Do you, Laura, vow to love and cherish this man for the rest of his days?"

"I do," Lee hands Bill the ring to sing onto her finger; he does so happily.

"If there are any objections, please step forward," Priestess Illa replies, and Bill immediately shoots a look to the ones standing around him that they are not to say a word within an inch of their life. "By the power invested in me by the Gods and the Twelve Colonies of Kobol, I now proclaim you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Laura parts her lips in anticipation as Bill moves forward in one swift movement to kiss her. The tiny crowd claps joyously.

\--

  
"Aw, Dad, really?" Laura's not been able to let go of Bill's hand since the ceremony; always finding some way back to his side even after a split second. Her hand is on his thigh as his hand covers hers. "You don't have to tell the story, you know… I'm sure everyone would enjoy it if you didn't tell them!"

"What, and waste my opportunity in my old age as your father to embarrass you? Never!" Bill grins gleefully at Lee, taking another sip of his drink before sitting it back down on the table. "However, I'm willing to put money on the fact that Starbuck could probably tell us juicier stories."

The grin on Kara's face was evident as she could in fact tell the stories that Bill was speaking of. However, at that moment, Saul decides to intervene to Laura's delight.

"Shouldn't someone give a few words?" Saul said, reminding them that this was in fact more of a celebration dinner and less of a family reunion in which they swap crazy stories over booze, "To the happy couple, of course."

"That's an excellent idea, Saul," Laura replies, smiling as her head rests on one elbow, "Why don't you go first."

"Okay," Saul stands; unsure of himself as he clears his throat. "To Bill and Laura, though this moment certainly may never come again; may we all see you with the eyes we have right now, content and happy."

Around the table, everyone cheers and claps; Saul takes his seat, and Lee stands.

"To Dad," Lee points his glass, "And now, to Laura. May you finally have the one good thing that you both deserve; each other. Gods know, you've both certainly done enough to earn it."

Everyone cheers again, clapping as Lee sits and Kara stands.

"To my new Mommy &amp; her Old Man," Kara grins, holding her glass up. "May we never drive you as crazy as crazy gets because the world would certainly be a lot smaller without you, and there would definitely be a whole more asses needing saved. Especially mine."

Everyone chuckles at this, resuming the clap.

"Thank you," Bill says when he sits. "All of you."

\--

  
"Bye!" Laura waves happily; Bill standing behind her. "Be careful!"

"Good night, guys, thank you!" Bill shouts out; the people only happy to wave at him as they close the door and realize for the first time that they are alone and _married_.

"That was certainly a nice surprise," Laura sighs happily; Bill's arms around her waist. "Thank the Gods that we had such well behaving children today. I don't think I'd want to see the state of the kitchen if they hadn't been willing to help clean up."

"They're good kids, when they want to be. Today was a good day."

"Indeed," Laura smiles, "Certainly never expected all of this."

"Mrs. Adama," Bill says; not being able to resist saying the title as he pulls her around to face him.

"Mr. Adama," Laura smiles back; her hands all ready working their relaxing touches through his hair to play with the small curls at the nape of his neck. Bill leans into kiss her, taking his time to explore her mouth as his arms went around her.

"Upstairs?" Bill whispers; Laura nods and she takes his head and leads him upstairs.

\--

  
In front of their bedroom door, Bill insists on one traditional tradition; his arms quickly lifting her as her legs curl up and he feels her relax. When he is satisfied with where they stand, he lowers her down until her feet hit the floor while bracing her hips with his hands.

For a moment, neither one of them knows anything but the breath they are sharing; tongues back and forth between them. He pulls back enough to undo his shirt, starting with the top. Halfway through, she drops her arms from around his neck to help him. Unfortunately, her fingers are not as nimble as she wants them to be, and it shows.

"Problems?" Bill chuckles; Laura laughs, and lets him finish before she pulls the shirt from his shoulders.

"Maybe," Laura giggles. "I don't know what's worse, being naturally high from just being married, or being naturally high and just a little tipsy from just being married."

"Lesser of two evils… Though, I can't particularly say you would feel any different without the alcohol."

"Really?" Laura giggles as Bill's mouth circles hers; her arms moving gingerly back and forth down his bare back, moving to his ribs as he made his way down her jaw line and into her neck. His fingers quickly found the sash, untying it before moving to the zipper to unzip it. "And what about tomorrow, _Admiral_?"

"What about tomorrow?"

"Will I still feel like we don't have to keep secrets anymore?"

"Mmhmm," Bill kisses his way down the right side of her neck and Laura groans slightly when he hits her collarbone, lingering long enough for her to know she's going to have a mark, "Kind of like loving you. People all ready look at my face, and they instantly know that I'm in love with the most beautiful woman I've ever laid eyes on."

Laura smiles as he pulls the silky white dress down enough that it falls the rest of the way to the floor. She steps out of it, casually kicking it to the side so that it doesn't interfere anymore.

"Nice try," Laura undoes his belt buckle; her fingers quickly recovering from their 'mistake' earlier as her senses quickly come back to her. "But I doubt I'm the first you've used that line on."

"You'll certainly be the last," Bill's mouth is suckling gently on the left side of her neck now, working his way down her neck when he stops to wiggle out of his pants and copies her motion of kicking them to the side.

"Copycat," Laura maneuvers his face back to hers as she kisses him again. They're fairly even at this point; the final articles of clothing being his boxers and her lacy bra and panties that take next to nothing to discard. Laura's arms are around his neck at this point, his hands resting on the curve of her hips for a moment before moving downward to cup her behind.

Laura feels his grip on her behind as he lifts her up. Instinctively, her legs wrap around him as he lifts, and he carries her the short distance to their bed. Tenderly, he lowers her down and her back hits the sheets as he towers over her. She revels in this, holding his face between her hands just before his hands slide the baby blue garter from high off one of her legs.

Suddenly, he shifts, one of his knees landing between her legs as he leans in closer; her back arching so that one of his hands can rid of her of the bra she's wearing. A flick of two fingers, and he slides the material down each arm as she tosses it to the side.

Their kisses continue as his hand travels south towards the line where her flat abdomen meets her panties; his fingers toy with them for a moment before reaching inside to find what he wants. Laura is no dummy to this game; her hands make their way to the edge of his boxers before pushing them off to grant herself better access to what she wants.

The little clothes between them disappear; his hand pulling one of her legs over his hip as he eases himself into her. Her back slightly arches and she adjusts, gripping her legs around him as he rocks gently against her and she matches his speed and rhythm.

Neither one of them are going to last long at this point, Laura thinks. Her hands grip his back; trying their hardest not to leave a mark. She moans when she knows he's hit the right spot; triggering him to thrust repeatedly in the same spot over and over again.

His face nuzzles in her neck; skin to skin, whispering words of love and devotion and all the things that are between them as her hands feverishly run through his hair, gripping some spots more than others.

She feels her inner muscles clench tightly as her lips find his; trying to prolong the release as much as either of them can. Her back arches as his thrusts continue and she feels his release filling her.

He shifts off of her, pulling her close to him as their breathing evens; her hand aimlessly drawing random shapes on his chest. He kisses her forehead, rubbing his hands up and down her bare back as she leans up to kiss him.

For that brief moment, she pulls back to look into his eyes and between them nothing needs to be said.

Laura feels complete.

\--

  
"Good night, Laura," Their skin is still quite temperate; most of the sweat seems to have subsided. Bill's arms surround her small frame as he kisses the back of her shoulder.

"Mmm… Good night, Bill," Laura smiles; her hands rubbing his arms back and forth gently as she snuggles in closer, "Sweet dreams."

Bill whispers at her back, softly that she almost barely hears it as her eyes close and she gently drifts off to sleep.

\--

  
Laura slowly opens her eyes, the light of Life Station bearing down on her as she looks over to see Bill smiling at her. Holding her hand, he brings it up to kiss it being extra careful not to disturb the tubes from Cottle's IV.

Sonya, the Six model from the Quorum, gently puts her arm back down on the bed; quietly dismissing herself from the room. There would be time for discussion later.

"Oh, gods," Laura doesn't even notice Sonya; trying not to cry as her eyes look to the ceiling. The tears have all ready fallen down once as new ones sit in her eyes, "Oh, gods!"

"Sssh," Bill's soft voice thrills her; he turns his head to wipe away a single tear before reaching with his thumb to wipe hers away. The memories of the beautiful vision still linger in both of their minds, Laura thinks. "It's okay. I'm here, I'm right here."

"Why did I let… I never…" Laura blubbers loudly, and he stands, moving to sit on the side of her bed as she leans forward into his arms.

"I'm sorry," Bill replies, caressing the scarf covering her head. "I never meant to hurt… You only asked for one day, Laura. I didn't know any other way to give it to you, other than this."

"Gods, my hair!" Laura cries for hair that she lost a while ago, loudly, "My beautiful hair! In curls!"

"You're still beautiful, with or without your hair," Bill rocks gently back and forth with her as he cradles her like a newborn.

"Our house…"

"Filled to the brim with your things and mine," Bill tries to smile; his eyes glazed over and heavy. "Although, I tended to go more with your style choices rather than mine."

"It was perfect," Laura closes her eyes; as she smiles; imagining the large bed she fell asleep in. "Probably too real for our own good."

"It was meant to be," he whispers. "We'll always have it to hold on to, I promise."

Bill supports her as she cries, as she turns her head so that her forehead meets his chin. He patiently waits for her breathing to slow as the tears work their way out.

"Oh, Bill." Laura whispers, her hand sitting on his chest as his covers it for warmth.

"You deserve so much more than that, you know," he places tiny kisses across her forehead before resting his head against hers, "More than a day, more than a week, more than a lifetime. We could all use the precious gift of one day."

Laura nods her head silently. That's when she notices the ring on her finger; the same one he had placed on her hand during their 'wedding'. She wonders where exactly in the Fleet he managed to find such a beautiful ring; something tells her she knows she doesn't have to imagine very far.

"I can never thank you."

"Good," Bill smiles, "Because being my wife is enough."


End file.
